PASADENA, Calif. - Fourth-quarter magic got No. 4 Washington to the
Rose Bowl. At least one member of the Huskies has had enough of the nail-biting
finishes.

"They're never that fun," fullback Pat Conniff said. "They're great for
the crowds. For a player, it takes years off your life."

The Huskies (10-1), who face No. 14 Purdue (8-3) in the 87th Rose Bowl on
Monday, rallied for all but two of their wins. Coach Rick Neuheisel said it was
no accident.

When he arrived at Washington in 1999, Neuheisel said, one stat jumped out:
The 6-6 Huskies were outscored 97-31 in the fourth quarter the previous season.

"I said, 'If we could just turn around what we did in the fourth quarter,
we can win all those close games that got away from us and put ourselves back
in the Rose Bowl picture,"' Neuheisel said.

Washington improved significantly last season, scoring 106 fourth-quarter
points to 82 for the opposition while going 7-5. But that was nothing compared
to this season, when the count was 144-68.

"I have not seen a team that's been so good in the fourth quarter," Purdue
coach Joe Tiller said. "Look at their fourth-quarter scoring and forget the
rest of it, that tells you a lot about this team."

Tiller hopes his team is in a position to win the game in the fourth
quarter. Most of Washington's opponents were, all but one lost.

The biggest comebacks were against California, which led the Huskies 24-13
entering the final period before losing 36-24, and Arizona, which led 25-13
before losing 35-32.

"You can just see it in all the guys' faces, we're not going to get beat,"
he said. "We hold four fingers in the air, `This is the fourth quarter, it's
the last chance."'

Washington, 6-1-1 overall against Purdue, will be playing in its first Rose
Bowl game in eight years and 14th overall. The Boilermakers will play in just
their second - 34 years after Bob Griese guided them past Southern California
14-13.

Purdue will try to extend the Big Ten's Rose Bowl winning streak to five
games and eight of nine.

"This is about us," Gilbertson said. "There hasn't been a lot of talk
about carrying the (Pac-10) banner."

Senior quarterbacks Tuiasosopo and Drew Brees of Purdue both will be playing
their final college games.

Brees, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, led the nation in
total offense, passing for 3,393 yards and rushing for another 546. He was
sacked only eight times.

"He's a great quarterback, one of the best," Tuiasosopo said. "He's
brought his team back a lot this year."

So has Tuiasosopo, who was eighth in the Heisman voting. He passed for 2,146
yards and rushed for another 394.

"Our plans are to contain (Tuiasosopo), not stop him," Tiller said. "I
don't think you can stop this guy, he's too talented, too good of a runner.
He's going to throw the ball some, too. He's going to make his yards."